Teaching and learning the faith together
Happy 100th Anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun!
Enjoy this beautiful talk by Father Andrew Apostoli, CFR, which urgently and lovingly places the message and meaning of the apparitions at Fatima into the context of our lives, today.
Please begin by saying a brief prayer for this holy priest’s health.
As I was driving with Jesus buckled into my lap in His pyx, on my way to preside over a Communion service this past Sunday, I was trying to prepare some thoughts for the reflection after the Gospel.
Although I had just gone to Mass that morning, the readings and homily seemed a vague memory, as it had been pre-second cup of coffee. What was it that the priest said? What was the Gospel again? Something about the Body of Christ, probably…
What do I say to residents on Corpus Christi Sunday, whose holiness and devotion far exceeds my own? Well, since I am no expert, I thought, I must consult the saints!
Of course Our Lady came to mind. But then, along with that thought, a much older and much more vivid memory than that morning’s homily popped into my head. I recalled how my mom told me that my name, Maureen, means “little Mary.”
Never did I find my name among the turnstiles of souvenir pens or plaques with it’s meaning and origin, which so often populate gift shops and craft fairs. I used to search fruitlessly among the Marissas, Megans, Michelles, but no Maureens. My mom, however, told me she named me Maureen for a few reasons, one of which was because it meant “little Mary.”
This happy thought called to mind an image of the Visitation, as I imagined how Mary carried Christ inside her body.
As I prayed with this image, the Lord reminded me that this phenomenon is not unique to Our Lady, since we do this whenever we receive Christ’s Body and Blood. We all become “little Marys,” bringing Jesus to all of the corners of the world.
This reality remained with me throughout the day, long after the Communion service.
What a privilege it is to be a Christ-bearer like Our Lady. And how blessed we are to have such a model and guide as we seek to reveal Him in our daily lives! It is easy to think that we must feel His Presence or seek Him and take Him in in order to become a Christ-bearer. But by nature of our Baptism, the light of Christ shines from within, not from without, and is amplified and fortified each time we receive the Sacraments.
I often wait for Christ to come to me, and wait to love or do ministry until I feel prepared by His Grace, thinking myself to be too weak. But it is precisely then, when we are empty, when we are least full of ourselves, that we are disposed to carry the One who can do all things.
May we all be like Mary, carrying Christ to all around us. Every human person suffers and we get to be healers of divine love. It is easy to forget that Christ’s presence dwells with us long after we have consumed the Eucharist. We may feel His throne is vacant within us at times, as Mary surely felt the pain of his absence during Christ’s apostolic years, and most certainly at the Cross. Yet, she and so many before us trusted and hoped in His fidelity.
Let us be strengthened by the witness of the Saints who recognized their own powerlessness and at the same time the power of the presence of Christ in our souls. From one Christ-bearer to another, I pray that God blesses you each time you receive His Sacred Body and Blood, and that you receive a special gift of His Grace this Friday on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart – the proof of His Love for you.
In my previous article titled “Mary CHRISTmas!!!,” I promised an explanation for using Mary CHRISTmas in place of Merry Christmas. So on this last day of the CHRISTmas season, The Baptism of the Lord, I keep my promise (kinda like last minute CHRISTmas shopping!).
Now just to clarify – I have no problem using Merry Christmas. This traditional greeting expresses our desire for souls to experience the true joy of CHRISTmas. But in these idolatrous times, so many souls are blinded to the beauty of that most Holy Night and of the entire CHRISTmas season. So when the greeting is bestowed or received, many times there’s really no thought given to its actual meaning.
As the war to annihilate the true meaning of CHRISTmas in hearts and societies continues, it also attacks the dignity of Our Lady and her irreplaceable role in our salvation. As lovers of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, let us in return wage our own war to bring back into the light what Satan is trying to conceal!
Using Mary CHRISTmas is a simple way to help us and all souls focus more on the sacred realities of CHRISTmas. Here are just some of the many beautiful truths it illuminates while providing opportunities for us to evangelize souls into a deeper love of the Holy Family:
“So intimately is she united to You that it would be easier to separate light from the sun, and heat from the fire. I go further, it would even be easier to separate all the angels and saints from You than Mary; for she loves You ardently, and glorifies You more perfectly than all Your other creatures put together” (True Devotion to Mary, n. 63).
Now some may ask themselves if this article gives too much praise, glory, and honor to the Mother of God, somehow in opposition to or detracting from the praise, glory, and honor that we owe to Almighty God (as if that were possible!). I would tell them to ask themselves the following questions:
Then when Mary Most Holy receives praise, glory, and/or honor, are we to somehow assume that any of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity (Father, Son, or Holy Spirit) is offended?!?! Oh how much the Most Holy Trinity is perfectly praised, glorified, and/or honored when Our Lady is!!! I end this article in the words of the great St. Bernard of Clairvaux, Abbot and Doctor of the Church, who Pope Pius XII called “Doctor Mellifluus” and “the last of the Fathers”:
Ave Maria!!
In recent decades there has been an all-out war to annihilate the true meaning of CHRISTmas. So what can we as lovers of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph do to restore its sacredness? What can we do to remind souls that CHRISTmas is the joyful celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ? Here is a simple suggestion:
*** Restore the CHRISTmas manger scene in as many places as possible ***
I remember as a child being enamored by manger scenes; even now they exercise a holy influence upon me. They are an incredible source of catechesis without a single word being spoken. St. Francis of Assisi originated this practice to honor the beauty, warmth, and sacredness of this most Holy Night.
The CHRISTmas manger scene ‘preaches’ the glad tidings of the Virgin Birth. It ‘cries out’ in silence so many beautiful truths of our most holy Faith; all of which were accomplished through God’s infinite love, such as:
The CHRISTmas manger scene is an extremely simple, beautiful, and powerful means to bear witness to these and so many other beautiful truths of our most holy Faith. All of the above should move us out of love to properly prepare our hearts to celebrate the Birth of God-made-Man in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; most especially by making a good, humble sacramental Confession of our sins.
Let us not allow our blessed Lord to enter into hearts that resemble the cave/stable in Bethlehem – cold, filthy, foul-smelling, and full of dung (in this case our sins). Let us welcome Beauty Himself into hearts made pure through penance and Confession; hearts which resemble the Heart He most loves – the Immaculate Heart of Mary!!!
Coming soon – a follow-up article explaining how using Mary CHRISTmas in place of Merry Christmas can be used to reveal more beautiful truths of our most holy Faith.
I’m thrilled to announce the conclusion to this 12-part series of memes on marriage, covering every topic from communication to finances to prayer. This final installment focuses on the Holy Family, any marriage’s best and most perfect role model. Quotes are from Chapter 12 of our Catholic marriage advice book The Four Keys to Everlasting Love: How Your Catholic Marriage Can Bring You Joy for a Lifetime. Please put our book on your Christmas list for any engaged or married couples you know. And throughout this beautiful Advent season of preparation, let’s ask Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to pray for us!
“Imagine you are on the ride to Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph,” my wise confessor suggested. “Listen to what they are saying and how they are experiencing the journey.”
I could picture myself along side Mary. She, quite literally,’expecting Christmas’ is chatting to Joseph joyfully about the baby’s arrival. She is anticipating wrapping him in the swaddling clothes, sent by her cousin Elizabeth. She has everything set up with her midwife and Joseph has carved the most beautiful cradle she could have ever imagined! “It’s fit for a King, Joseph,” she told her husband.
As my prescribed meditation (penance) ended, I realized that Mary’s Christmas had definitely not gone as she may have planned. God’s idea of that Christmas was quite different from the one she imagined. It was, however, perfect in every way. The Savior born not, in the loving home of Joseph and Mary with a caring midwife attending, but in a stable with angels helping in the delivery of the Lord who would deliver us! No handsome, hand-carved cradle, only a feeding trough (manager) for His glorious head. Yes, so perfect that we ponder it with awe to this very day.
I feel the stress building. The list of things that have to be done in the next 24 hours doubling, when it should be diminishing. Lord, help me to remember that You have a much better plan for my Christmas this year than I do. It might not have anything to do with a clean house, good food or even wrapped gifts, but I pray that my heart will be open and obedient to it, just like Mary’s. Wishing all of you the most blessed and ‘perfect’ Christmas ever!
Freeimages/Schiel
Freeimages.com
Fast-forward and it was a job I desired, in a specific field, in a specific location… I seem to have developed a pattern of asking for exactly what I wanted. It took me years to figure out that the one who created me could create the perfect plan for me.
My good friend and co-RCIA teacher, Kelly Guest, puts it this way:
At the Wedding at Cana, Mary only presents the problem to Jesus, her son. “They have no wine,” she states. (John 2:1-12) She doesn’t tell Jesus what He should do, or how He should do it. She trusts that He will do what is necessary, in the way that it is necessary. Although Christ tells His mother that it is, “not my time,” He still works a miracle to fix the embarrassing situation for the bride and groom, and to bring about the best result.
Kelly reminds me that we only need to present our concern to the Lord and trust Him to work out the best plan for us. When we try to tell God how things ‘should’ be instead of believing He will work out things for our best, we demonstrate a lack of trust in the Lord.
In Jeremiah 29:11 we are further told that the Lord has plans for us that are for our, “good and not for our destruction.”
Scripture often reminds us to yield our will completely to the Lord”s plans for us.
“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” Psalm 31:14
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14:1
Mary, the Mother of God, shows conviction in following God’s plan from the Annunciation, to the Wedding at Cana, at the foot of the cross and again at Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. Following Mary’s example will draw us into a deeper, more trusting relationship with Christ.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus… therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. [Emphasis mine.]
“But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman…” [Emphasis mine.]
Mary is truly “Mother of God” since she is the mother of the eternal Son of God made man, who is God himself.
“Therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be Emmanuel.”
“The angel Gabriel was sent from God… to a virgin betrothed… and the virgin’s name was Mary.”And then there is the dialogue between Mary and the angel at the annunciation that leads to the miraculous “overshadowing” of Mary by the power of God. (Luke1:35.)
The deepening of faith in the virginal motherhood led the Church to confess Mary’s real and perpetual virginity even in the act of giving birth to the Son of God made man. In fact, Christ’s birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it.
Against this doctrine the objection is sometimes raised that the Bible mentions brothers and sisters of Jesus. The Church has always understood these passages as not referring to other children of the Virgin Mary. In fact James and Joseph, “brothers of Jesus”, are the sons of another Mary, a disciple of Christ, whom St. Matthew significantly calls “the other Mary” They are close relations of Jesus, according to an Old Testament expression.
Finally, some would argue that if the marriage between Mary and Joseph was never consummated, then it would not have been a true marriage or would have been unnatural. However, the essence of the marriage bond between husband and wife is their complete and unconditional gift of self and union of the heart, of which the physical union is a concrete sign. If for a good and holy reason husband and wife should choose to refrain from relations, either for a time or permanently (under exceptional circumstances), this would not invalidate a marriage or affect its true bond, which is rooted not in the physical but in the spiritual union of the spouses.
Mary is a virgin because her virginity is the sign of her faith unadulterated by any doubt, and of her undivided gift of herself to God’s will. It is her faith that enables her to become the mother of the Savior: [St. Augustine taught:] “Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ.”
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
From among the descendants of Eve, God chose the Virgin Mary to be the mother of his Son. “Full of grace”, Mary is the most excellent fruit of redemption: from the first instant of her conception, she was totally preserved from the stain of original sin and she remained pure from all personal sin throughout her life.
Through the centuries the Church has become ever more aware that Mary, “full of grace” through God, was redeemed from the moment of her conception. That is what the dogma of the Immaculate Conception confesses, as Pope Pius IX proclaimed in 1854:The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.The splendor of an entirely unique holiness by which Mary is enriched from the first instant of her conception comes wholly from Christ: she is redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her Son. The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and chose her in Christ before the foundation of theworld, to be holy and blameless before him in love.
Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians.Finally, Mary’s assumption serves as an eschatological sign (pointing to things to come in the afterlife)… she reminds us of the perfected Church we will become in heaven, as she is an icon of the Church both now and in the future.
The Mother of Jesus, in the glory which she possesses in body and soul in heaven, is the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come. Likewise she shines forth on earth until the day of the Lord shall come, a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God.